Encounter
by Shihanne
Summary: [SDR2] "You're a very interesting person, Naegi-kun."


And then, it hit him.

The ball _literally_ hit Naegi on the head, having been thrown from the nearby field as a soccer game was going on. Naegi winced – it wasn't anything like some kind of professional shot that would give one a concussion on impact, but it was never pleasant to have a ball rammed into one's face.

"Sorry, sorry! Can you pass it back?" yelled the girl playing on the field.

Naegi obliged and sat back down under the tree, rubbing his head and feeling a little embarrassed even if there wasn't much to be embarrassed about.

"Hello. Are you okay? I saw that hit you on the head. It must have hurt."

There was another boy standing in front of him, who seemed to be eyeing him with a rather neutral expression. His eyes seemed to be appraising Naegi, and once they'd settled on getting his general appearance and countenance, his face gave a light smile.

"I'm fine. Thank you for the concern."

The boy only continued to stand there smiling. "So you're Naegi Makoto."

"Ah – yes, I am – " Naegi was used to everyone knowing his name before he'd introduced himself by this point; after all, a large number of people had taken interest in the only one to enter the school this year without a talent. He scratched his head and smiled. "Um, you are – "

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself first." He held out a hand. "Komaeda Nagito."

Naegi took the hand and shook it. Of course. Komaeda Nagito, the one with the same title as him. He'd heard of his name when reading the discussions about the school, since he'd constantly been brought up in comparison to him; he should have known they'd cross paths eventually.

"I've been wanting to meet you. After all, I'm curious what the new person with the same talent as me is like." He let go of Naegi's hand. "Other than such a 'talent', I can't say I'm particularly exceptional, so I'm different from all of the students here. But if you're also brought in here by similar circumstances to mine..."

Naegi shifted around awkwardly, not wanting to show any particular pride at his title but also not wanting to offend Komaeda by speaking poorly of it. "Well, 'luck' is still kind of a strange thing, isn't it? But even if we're both ordinary, luck brought two ordinary students like us here, so I think we should be happy with our fortune and make the most of the opportunity we're given."

"To be happy with our fortune…"

Komaeda laughed. It was a soft laugh, the agreeable type that one would give to a friend, but there was a feeling of resignation in it.

"Say, Naegi-kun. What does 'luck' mean to you?"

The question took Naegi somewhat by surprise, and he had to take a minute to consider it.

"Well...luck is something that creates a favorable outcome for you when the probability is low, isn't it?"

"So then what would you define as a 'favorable outcome, then?"

"That would be something that's good for you, right?"

Naegi smiled a little nervously. He wasn't sure if he'd given the right answer.

"So if that's the case," said Komaeda, whose face didn't seem to particularly accept or reject the response, "if one were to be the bearer of 'good luck', and they were in a situation where a favorable outcome would mean unfavorable things for someone else, what do you think would happen?"

"Well…if the person with 'good luck' has luck in that situation, it'd probably favor them over the other…"

"I see." Komaeda laughed softly again, and Naegi had the slight feeling that whatever Komaeda said next wasn't going to make him very comfortable. "So let's say that you and I, who are both blessed with good luck, were put in a situation where we were put against each other. If one of us had to emerge as the victor, the winner would depend on whose luck is the one to hold out, right?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

Komaeda gestured towards the field, where the other students were playing soccer.

"Say, perhaps, that soccer ball that hit you earlier – say it had been actually headed in my direction, only for it to narrowly miss me, bounce off a tree, and hit you instead. Would you say that my luck had turned out to have overcome yours?"

"Well…I don't think I like to think that way," said Naegi.

"And what do you mean like that?"

"I mean – "Naegi struggled a little to phrase what he wanted to say into the proper words. "I mean, it's not good to depend on luck all of the time, right? It's true that I wouldn't have control over whether the ball hit me in the face or not, but the fact it did hasn't really ruined my day, so…if you and I were in a kind of competition against each other, we should just do our best."

Komaeda laughed, and Naegi couldn't understand what about the things he had just said Komaeda found funny.

"You're a very interesting person, Naegi-kun. I look forward to meeting you again."

Without another word, Komaeda departed. Naegi could only stand there, wondering what point Komaeda was interested in making.


End file.
